Molly, a party drug that can kill, has authorities on alert

When Charlton police stopped a car last week because the brake light was not working, they found the drug Molly, a powdered form of the designer drug ecstasy, in the vehicle along with two promoters of a rave party scheduled for a nightclub in Worcester on Saturday. "At those types of events, those drugs are common. We are definitely seeing more of it," Charlton Detective Sgt. Daniel P. Dowd said.

When Charlton police stopped a car last week because the brake light was not working, they found the drug Molly, a powdered form of the designer drug ecstasy, in the vehicle along with two promoters of a rave party scheduled for a nightclub in Worcester on Saturday.

"At those types of events, those drugs are common. We are definitely seeing more of it," Charlton Detective Sgt. Daniel P. Dowd said. "I think it's kind of popular out here with the kids especially at the rave scenes. The kids out here seem to have a little bit more money so they can participate in those types of things."

A spate of overdoses have occurred at rave parties and electronic or techno music concerts, including three recent deaths in Boston and New York.

Dr. Richard J. Church, a medical toxicologist at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, said because Worcester does not have the big nightclub and party venues like Boston and New York, local hospitals have only seen a few cases in which people have needed medical attention after using what they said was Molly.

Dr. Church said ecstasy, or MDMA, has been around for several decades. The term "Molly" came on the scene about a decade ago. At a time when people were hearing about heroin and other harder drugs, partygoers and rave-goers were looking for a "nicer" drug they could use that would add euphoria to their experience.

But, while people are being led to believe that the crystallized or powered form of ecstasy is purer, they don't really know what's in the Molly capsules or pills. As with most drugs, as the popularity goes up, the purity goes down, he said, because sellers realize they can "step on it" or dilute it with another white powder like methamphetamine or talcum powder and still get the same amount of money.

"Molly isn't the Molly that you thought she was," the doctor said. "In the '90s when you were sold X, it was X and you could trust your drug dealer, so to speak. The term Molly is like a Trojan horse. It could be just about anything."

Dr. Church, who treats patients who have overdosed on street drugs, said a recent patient told medical professionals she had taken Molly. Ecstasy didn't show up in her system, but a lot of other designer drugs did, he said. Colleagues in Boston are awaiting lab results from a patient who said she had taken Molly. He said it could be a newly-formulated designer drug that some basement chemist has come up with. It might have enough ecstasy in it to trigger some euphoria, but it can also cause unexpected side effects.

"We're waiting to see if some of these newer designer drugs are what's in what these kids are taking," said Dr. Church. It could be "just another example of dealers and these basement chemists formulating their own new drugs that aren't detectable by drug labs."

A big problem with people taking Molly is the music-blaring, room-packed, alcohol-infused environment. They may not be fully aware of what's happening to their body until it's too late. The drug causes dehydration, elevated heart rates and body temperatures that can result in renal failure, liver damage, strokes, heart attacks and death.

Because the target age for Molly-users is 16 to 24, local colleges are warning students about the chemical.

Clark University sent out an advisory to students and is involved in sending out similar messages to students at other local campuses, particularly in light of the rave party planned at a Worcester nightclub on Saturday and a rave concert by Barstool Blackout at the DCU Center on Sept. 27. The Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, N.H., this week cancelled a Sept. 28 Barstool Blackout concert because of the recent overdoses, including the deaths of two New Hampshire college students.

Amy Peterson, director of marketing at the DCU Center, said as far as she knows the concert is still on.

Leicester Police Chief James Hurley said his department had its first experience with Molly a couple of weeks ago, when a man involved in a domestic dispute tried to throw away a couple of packets of the drug. He said he and other members of the Worcester County Regional Drug and Counter Crime Task Force are preparing a five-minute video about Molly to be shown on public access channels in the member communities.

The video will focus on informing parents about what the drug is, what it looks like, side effects, and where they can get help if their child becomes involved. He said some multi-panel drug tests will be made available to parents free of charge.

"Anytime we can do anything to support parents who are trying to keep their children on the right track is important," said Chief Hurley.

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